Bonding Over Blankets
by Trust Her She's Weird
Summary: Friendship, but COULD be read as Merthur. Arthur is cold on a hunting trip, and he asks his manservant to bring him a blanket.


**THIS COULD BE READ AS FRIENDSHIP OR SLASH (Even as the author, I have no Idea which one it is)**

**Merlin is mine, I wished for it on a shooting star.**

Arthur found himself shivering, alone in a much-too-big tent while on a hunt for an elusive hunt. Game was scarce in the city, and Arthur needed his space and some exercise. Arthur was still freezing a few moments later and found that he didn't want to feel like he was freezing to death.

"Merlin!"

Arthur swore that he heard a grunt and a grumble, before his servant walked in, looking quite blue… literally.

"Merlin?" Now Arthur's voice was laced with something else, worry.

"Don't worry Arthur; it's just a little cold outside. Now sire, what do you need from me?" Arthur could hear the shivering breaths of the man standing almost three meters away.

Arthur was hesitant to request anything after seeing his manservant's state. "Would…" Arthur cleared his throat, choosing his next words carefully. "Check if there are any extra blankets." A pause, "If you don't mind, of course."

Arthur could tell that Merlin certainly did mind, but gazing into the other's eyes he sensed confusion, probably from the fact that Arthur was being polite. Arthur sighed at this realization; maybe he was a bit of a prat some of the time, no more than a bit though. Merlin nodded, turning around to get any extra blankets that he could find.

Merlin was back, holding up a very thick and warm blanket. The royal's eyebrows furrowed quizzically, why was he not given this blanket first? It certainly was an exquisite looking cover, white fur, trimmed with gold thread. Where had this blanket been hidden?

"Merlin, why wasn't this given to me right away? It certainly looks more comfortable and warm than the one I am currently using." The king's voice steadily rising, "Why didn't you give this to me first? Did you want to take it? Where did you get it from, I probably would have seen it with you putting it in the saddlebags." Arthur's cheeks slightly reddened at that last line, he hadn't meant to be doing his daily Merlin studying while he was packing up the prince's clothes and miscellaneous items needed for this hunting trip.

Merlin didn't notice the implication from the last line, and if he did, he wasn't about to admit it. But Merlin could not help feeling slightly distraught at the tone of his master's words. Did Arthur really believe him that selfish, thinking only for himself, while he had saved the other's trust and life too many times to count? Merlin thought for one moment, maybe more before speaking the anecdote of an event long since passed.

"Arthur, this is my blanket." Arthur was confused by this, had he stolen it? "I used to help my mom mend clothes when I was younger, and once I surpassed my mother's skill, I started to make this blanket from the most abundant material, hide. I wanted to prove to my mother that I could do whatever I set my mind and focus to. I often went out into the forest looking for an animal that had soft enough fur for the masterpiece that I had planned out many times in my head." Merlin's voice progressively got more dramatic, but not louder. Merlin took a deep breath before recounting the full story.

"That day was sunny, and the forest seemed alive, happy, and teeming with life. Suddenly, I saw a white bear, twice the size of myself." Arthur's captivated expression faltered for a moment, to glance at the blanket hung over Merlin's shoulder. It was indeed white. But white bears, was there such a creature? "I knew that such creatures were exotic, and I felt compelled to somehow overcome the beast that loomed over me." Merlin struggled to come up with a believable lie, for in reality he had choked the beast with magic.

"I killed it by…" Merlin's voice trailed off. "I killed it after it had noticed me. Um, it charged me, while I started running towards a cliff closer to Ealdor. It fell, the whole town got a free meal, and I got the pelt." Merlin inwardly exhaled, that was a mostly believable lie.

Merlin rounded off his tale with an account of how he had saved up to pay for the thread, and the stuffing that was packed in between the hide casing. He was expressive with his hands, and demonstrated his methods in fulfilling this chef-d'oeuvre. "That's how I learned to read, you know, I spent so much time looking at the spool of golden thread and the strange markings, until my mother told me to use my head to figure it out. I nagged her until she taught me every letter, every sound, completely disregarding the norm of a peasant in a nearly illiterate town"

Merlin's gaze was wistful, remembering a time where he and his mother were truly happy. Arthur was conflicted, he had no right to ask this of Merlin, but there was a question that his person felt that it needed to be answered.

"Would you mind reading to me?" Arthur asked, cutting himself off quickly, embarrassed. The royal recovered his confidence and continued. "I'm alright if you don't, but I, well, erm. You know what? Why am I explaining myself to you? Just, I felt…" Arthur's mumbled words trailed off into silence.

"Yes." Merlin's answer was one word, only slightly audible.

Arthur raised his head from the slumped position it was in currently, a small smile on his face. "Well, in that case, you're sleeping with me tonight." Arthur tried not to hesitate in his command, but the king was afraid of the younger man's response. Merlin hesitantly agreed, but only after Arthur explained that he needed Merlin's blanket, and Merlin needed not to be frozen to be able to read to him. The logic was sound enough.

Merlin breathed in and out because, after a few minutes of reading, the manservant had fallen asleep. Arthur was just content with lying next to a person who could definitely be called a friend. With Merlin's devotion to sewing explained, Arthur thought back to the many battles and many ripped and tattered jumpers as a result to that.

Then the king played back the memory of watching Merlin pack his clothing into the saddlebags, he remembered a good number of those jumpers had been old. They were old and torn in battle, but in pristine condition. Merlin, Merlin had mended his clothes. Merlin had put enough thought into the patch-up job that Arthur hadn't even noticed. Well, he was certainly noticing now. This brought Arthur to a conclusion to his man thoughts. Soon, Arthur joined Merlin in the realm of dreams.

Merlin had no idea of his sudden promotion, but he was now realized as King Arthur's one and true friend.

**A/N: Thanks for reading my story! Yeah, kind of random and off-topic, but I kind of liked it. I also have another Merlin fic, and that seemed to go over relatively well. Check it out if you don't mind.**

**Please review telling me what about it you liked or didn't like. If you have no idea what to say, just steal one of the quotes from the story, and tell me how it made you think.**


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